TV/PVR Card/Software Options??

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I recently picked up a generation or 2 older DELL with an All-In-Wonder
Radeon card. The card seems to be circa 2001. The PC works great ... I was
hoping to see TV recording feature rivaling my HP MCE and/or my Tivo.

I've got the PC hooked up to my TV, and it works, but the TV card/software
seems clunky and isn't trumping either of my 2 other digital recording
setups. Hey, it's 4 year-old technology, eh?

I've really like to turn this PC into a machine that rivals (and eventually
replaces?) my Tivo.

Can someone suggest some TV card systems to research? What have you guys
had good luck with? I like the fact that a couple of the Hauppauge cards
hardware encode directly to MPEG. I dislike the extra conversion step I
have to go through to actually work with my MCE's dvr-ms files.

I had originally focused on the Hauppauge 250 or 350 cards, and they seem to
have PVR software included. Can't judge whether this is good or great
stuff. Let's say I was willing to spend between $100 and 200. Any opinions
as to what setups I should consider?

Again, I'm looking for hardware that works AND includes workable PVR
software. If it creates MPG files, I can edit these and author DVD's on my
existing system. I just want a PC-ivo.

Thanks in advance,

Nick

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In article <41f42f84$5$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, bhnc_140
_@mindspring.com says...
> Subject: TV/PVR Card/Software Options??
> From: "Nick Knight" <bhnc_140_@mindspring.com>
> Newsgroups: rec.video.desktop
>
> I recently picked up a generation or 2 older DELL with an All-In-Wonder
> Radeon card. The card seems to be circa 2001. The PC works great ... I was
> hoping to see TV recording feature rivaling my HP MCE and/or my Tivo.
>
> I've got the PC hooked up to my TV, and it works, but the TV card/software
> seems clunky and isn't trumping either of my 2 other digital recording
> setups. Hey, it's 4 year-old technology, eh?
>
> I've really like to turn this PC into a machine that rivals (and eventually
> replaces?) my Tivo.
>
> Can someone suggest some TV card systems to research? What have you guys
> had good luck with? I like the fact that a couple of the Hauppauge cards
> hardware encode directly to MPEG. I dislike the extra conversion step I
> have to go through to actually work with my MCE's dvr-ms files.
>
> I had originally focused on the Hauppauge 250 or 350 cards, and they seem to
> have PVR software included. Can't judge whether this is good or great
> stuff. Let's say I was willing to spend between $100 and 200. Any opinions
> as to what setups I should consider?
>
> Again, I'm looking for hardware that works AND includes workable PVR
> software. If it creates MPG files, I can edit these and author DVD's on my
> existing system. I just want a PC-ivo.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Nick
>
>

The best deal going currently seems to be the SageTV/PVR-150

http://tinyurl.com/4kazh

You can probably find it elsewhere for a few bucks less.


--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In <MPG.1c6041b52a8d554a98a8e5@news.eastlink.ca>, on 01/25/2005
at 03:44 PM, Chris Phillipo <cphillipo@ramsays-online.com> said:

>The best deal going currently seems to be the SageTV/PVR-150

>http://tinyurl.com/4kazh

>You can probably find it elsewhere for a few bucks less.

Thanks. So they're including the Hauppauge PVR-150. But the description
here talks of hardware compression ... I thought you had to go for the 250
card to get hardware compression? Or is this 150-version compression NOT
really MPEG2?

I was leaning towards the Hauppauge, then I started reading about the
various ATI cards. I believe it was the Radeon 9800 Pro (?) that seemed to
get great reviews (at least 4 at 4+ starts on eOpinions).

I've read good AND bad about the Hauppauge stuff. Still thinking and
researching, but I did try and snipe an ATI card on eBay this evening.
Failed, but I usually don't fail too many times before I hit one

Thanks again for the reply. I was looking for more current opinions, but
google did provide quite a few (which was one reason I started doubting the
Hauppauge card(s)).


Nick

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Nick Knight" <bhnc_140_@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:41f6e784$1$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net...
> In <MPG.1c6041b52a8d554a98a8e5@news.eastlink.ca>, on 01/25/2005
> at 03:44 PM, Chris Phillipo <cphillipo@ramsays-online.com> said:
>
> >The best deal going currently seems to be the SageTV/PVR-150
>
> >http://tinyurl.com/4kazh
>
> >You can probably find it elsewhere for a few bucks less.
>
> Thanks. So they're including the Hauppauge PVR-150. But the description
> here talks of hardware compression ... I thought you had to go for the 250
> card to get hardware compression? Or is this 150-version compression NOT
> really MPEG2?

The 150 is hardware mpeg compression. It gives better quality than realtime
software encoders that you have to use with most other capture boards. It
also comes with a MPEG trimmer that gives perfect a/v sync although the user
interface is a bit primitive.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In <4OBJd.9900$rp1.2328@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>, on 01/26/2005
at 12:49 AM, "FLY135" <fly_135@(hot not not)notmail.com> said:

>> Thanks. So they're including the Hauppauge PVR-150. But the description
>> here talks of hardware compression ... I thought you had to go for the 250
>> card to get hardware compression? Or is this 150-version compression NOT
>> really MPEG2?

>The 150 is hardware mpeg compression. It gives better quality than
>realtime software encoders that you have to use with most other capture
>boards. It also comes with a MPEG trimmer that gives perfect a/v sync
>although the user interface is a bit primitive.

Ah. Checking their website, I see it's the DECODER that's software based in
all but the 350. Thanks for the clarification (and making me look .

Riddle me this, please. Will this card coexist with my antique ATI AIW
Radeon, which seems to do an OK job of throwing the PC screen onto my TV,
but doesn't seem to record well or with any stability?

Is there another alternative for getting the playback onto my TV?

I assume that the Sage software is better than what I've read about the
Hauppauge bundled stuff, yes? How does Sage stack up againts the Beyond TV
product?

Thanks again! Glad to be seeing some input.


Nick

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In <41f6ecaf$1$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, on 01/26/2005
at 01:04 AM, "Nick Knight" <bhnc_140_@mindspring.com> said:

>I assume that the Sage software is better than what I've read about the
>Hauppauge bundled stuff, yes? How does Sage stack up againts the Beyond TV
>product?

One more question, please? Are "PC Remotes" fairly interchangable?

If I buy a PVR-150, will its remote work with Sage and/or Beyond TV?

Anyone?

Nick

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Nick Knight" <bhnc_140_@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:41f6f37a$2$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net...
> In <41f6ecaf$1$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, on 01/26/2005
> at 01:04 AM, "Nick Knight" <bhnc_140_@mindspring.com> said:
>
> >I assume that the Sage software is better than what I've read about the
> >Hauppauge bundled stuff, yes? How does Sage stack up againts the Beyond
TV
> >product?
>
> One more question, please? Are "PC Remotes" fairly interchangable?
>
> If I buy a PVR-150, will its remote work with Sage and/or Beyond TV?

Sometimes the remotes will work in other apps. I know the Pinnacle remote
does. I don't use the remote with my 150 because my TV remote is picked up
by the 150 receiver and causes problems. I haven't bothered to see if I can
fix it because I always use the keyboard and mouse anyway.

The 150 should work fine with the AIW Radeon card.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

"Nick Knight" <bhnc_140_@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:41f6f37a$2$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net...
> In <41f6ecaf$1$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, on 01/26/2005
> at 01:04 AM, "Nick Knight" <bhnc_140_@mindspring.com> said:
>
>>I assume that the Sage software is better than what I've read about the
>>Hauppauge bundled stuff, yes? How does Sage stack up againts the Beyond
>>TV
>>product?
>
> One more question, please? Are "PC Remotes" fairly interchangable?
>
> If I buy a PVR-150, will its remote work with Sage and/or Beyond TV?
>
> Anyone?
>
> Nick
>

http://www.sage.tv/stvfaqs.html?sageSub=tv#14

SageTV Recorder works with the remote control provided with the Hauppauge
WinTV-PVR-250, PVR-350 and PVR-usb2. SageTV Recorder can also be configured
to work with Girder.

http://www.snapstream.com/Support/Support_PVSFAQ.asp Must be somewhere....

Google is your friend...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In article <41f6e784$1$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, bhnc_140
_@mindspring.com says...
> Thanks. So they're including the Hauppauge PVR-150. But the description
> here talks of hardware compression ... I thought you had to go for the 250
> card to get hardware compression? Or is this 150-version compression NOT
> really MPEG2?
>

No, the 350 has hardware decompression, all the PVR cards have hardware
mpeg compression.

> I was leaning towards the Hauppauge, then I started reading about the
> various ATI cards. I believe it was the Radeon 9800 Pro (?) that seemed to
> get great reviews (at least 4 at 4+ starts on eOpinions).
>
> I've read good AND bad about the Hauppauge stuff. Still thinking and
> researching, but I did try and snipe an ATI card on eBay this evening.
> Failed, but I usually don't fail too many times before I hit one

The good about Hauppage stuff is that is works better than ATI and is
compatible with most PVR software, the bad is that you need to buy some
of that PVR software because the included software is basically useless.


--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In article <41f6ecaf$1$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, bhnc_140
_@mindspring.com says...
>
> Ah. Checking their website, I see it's the DECODER that's software based in
> all but the 350. Thanks for the clarification (and making me look .
>
> Riddle me this, please. Will this card coexist with my antique ATI AIW
> Radeon, which seems to do an OK job of throwing the PC screen onto my TV,
> but doesn't seem to record well or with any stability?
>
> Is there another alternative for getting the playback onto my TV?
>
> I assume that the Sage software is better than what I've read about the
> Hauppauge bundled stuff, yes? How does Sage stack up againts the Beyond TV
> product?
>
> Thanks again! Glad to be seeing some input.
>
>
> Nick
>
>

Yes, just don't use the capture part of the AIW anymore. I have not
looked at BeyondTV in a while, it was of no use to me because they
didn't have a way to use Canadian TV listings with it. SageTV does
everything I would expect from a PVR except for some technical or
licensing reason it can not play windows media files, so I have to use
windows media player if I happen to download something in that format
but that's a minor annoyance.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In article <41f6f37a$2$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, bhnc_140
_@mindspring.com says...
> One more question, please? Are "PC Remotes" fairly interchangable?
>
> If I buy a PVR-150, will its remote work with Sage and/or Beyond TV?
>
> Anyone?
>
> Nick
>
>
>
Yes.
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In <MPG.1c61b83b61bcf9d498a8ea@news.eastlink.ca>, on 01/26/2005
at 06:23 PM, Chris Phillipo <cphillipo@ramsays-online.com> said:

>Yes, just don't use the capture part of the AIW anymore.

Thanks. After thinking about it, I was pretty sure this would work ... just
treat the AIW as a simple video card.

>I have not
>looked at BeyondTV in a while, it was of no use to me because they didn't
>have a way to use Canadian TV listings with it. SageTV does everything I
>would expect from a PVR except for some technical or licensing reason it
>can not play windows media files

I looked at both via screen shots. From memory, the Beyond TV does now
support Canadian listings. I remember screen shots saying so (again, I
think).

In actuallity, I prefered the Sage screens a bit more. For one, they looked
more Tivo and MCE-like, which I perceive, perhaps falsely, as requiring less
learning since I have both and am quite familiar with them. Not that they
require a power user And, the Sage software seemed to be much cheaper
than Beyond TV. However ...

I started to download the Sage trial package. One of the first thing it
tells me is that I need to get the Java 1.4 runtime from Sun. For me, this
was an instant reset to my anxious need to download. I'm an old software
engineer, and I've done plenty of time with Java, and I'm kind of enjoying
my time away from it right now . I have an instant perception (with much
experience to base it on) of bloat and slowness. I suppose I shouldn't
hold onto this prejudice, but it did influenced my spontaneity

Of course, I don't even remember much about Java on Windows. My experience
was with several Unix platforms, so perhaps I should reevaluate my thinking.

Thanks again for the reply.

Nick

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In article <41f85952$5$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, bhnc_140
_@mindspring.com says...
>
> I looked at both via screen shots. From memory, the Beyond TV does now
> support Canadian listings. I remember screen shots saying so (again, I
> think).
>
> In actuallity, I prefered the Sage screens a bit more. For one, they looked
> more Tivo and MCE-like, which I perceive, perhaps falsely, as requiring less
> learning since I have both and am quite familiar with them. Not that they
> require a power user And, the Sage software seemed to be much cheaper
> than Beyond TV. However ...
>
> I started to download the Sage trial package. One of the first thing it
> tells me is that I need to get the Java 1.4 runtime from Sun. For me, this
> was an instant reset to my anxious need to download. I'm an old software
> engineer, and I've done plenty of time with Java, and I'm kind of enjoying
> my time away from it right now . I have an instant perception (with much
> experience to base it on) of bloat and slowness. I suppose I shouldn't
> hold onto this prejudice, but it did influenced my spontaneity
>
> Of course, I don't even remember much about Java on Windows. My experience
> was with several Unix platforms, so perhaps I should reevaluate my thinking.
>
> Thanks again for the reply.
>
> Nick
>
>

Well 1.4 is pretty old now, the latest version runs faster, I'm not sure
what SageTV uses Java for but the application doens't run like most
applications that use Java, you know that sort of milisecond lag so that
it seems you are running a Java applet off a web page even when it's on
your hard drive, you don't see that SageTV is modeled pretty closly
after the Tivo interface, in fact I wonder why they don't get sued
Beyond TV has gone through many changes since I bought Sage, I don't
follow it because I can't afford to be buying another package
--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
http://www.ramsays-online.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In <MPG.1c62e696dbcf77ff98a8ee@news.eastlink.ca>, on 01/27/2005
at 03:53 PM, Chris Phillipo <cphillipo@ramsays-online.com> said:

>Well 1.4 is pretty old now, the latest version runs faster, I'm not sure
>what SageTV uses Java for but the application doens't run like most
>applications that use Java, you know that sort of milisecond lag so that
>it seems you are running a Java applet off a web page even when it's on
>your hard drive, you don't see that SageTV is modeled pretty closly
>after the Tivo interface, in fact I wonder why they don't get sued
>Beyond TV has gone through many changes since I bought Sage, I don't
>follow it because I can't afford to be buying another package

Ok, I've downloaded and fiddled around with both Sage and BeyondTV. Beyond
TV actually makes my existing ATI antique fairly usable. If only I had a
remote . Well, that and I can't get the BeyondTV schedule/guide to
download. From browsing google, it appears they broke something in early
December. And it's not fixed yet? This is worrisome. It would be easy to
go with THIS package, and advantageous (because if I buy a PVR-150 w/remote,
I'd have 2 tuners and this will work with both, remembering that it seems to
control my ATI card nicely) ... but I can't live without a schedule. That's
where the Tivo has me hooked and I don't like it (paying $13/month for the
service).

The Sage stuff has a nice look and feel. One downside is that it won't
control my ATI card with the only ATI option in their setup. But I still
prefer this look and feel, and the schedule did download!

HOWEVER ... in SageTV, I can't press RECORD on the listings. What's this
about? So I go and recheck their web pages. There's something called
SageTV Recorder, which seems to do the rest of the stuff that should have
been in the base package? Does this sound right? So, I have to pay another
$20, on top of what WAS a price-competitive-with-BeyondTV cost, just to
schedule recordings? This doesn't sound right to me. That and the
disclaimer they have when they talk about the schedule service.

I'm mostly concerned with this SageTV Recorder. Is this in fact required
for scheduling recordings from the guide/listings?

Thanks again in advance,

Nick

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

In article <41fad277$1$avpx$mr2ice@news.east.earthlink.net>, bhnc_140
_@mindspring.com says...
> Ok, I've downloaded and fiddled around with both Sage and BeyondTV. Beyond
> TV actually makes my existing ATI antique fairly usable. If only I had a
> remote . Well, that and I can't get the BeyondTV schedule/guide to
> download. From browsing google, it appears they broke something in early
> December. And it's not fixed yet? This is worrisome. It would be easy to
> go with THIS package, and advantageous (because if I buy a PVR-150 w/remote,
> I'd have 2 tuners and this will work with both, remembering that it seems to
> control my ATI card nicely) ... but I can't live without a schedule. That's
> where the Tivo has me hooked and I don't like it (paying $13/month for the
> service).
>
> The Sage stuff has a nice look and feel. One downside is that it won't
> control my ATI card with the only ATI option in their setup. But I still
> prefer this look and feel, and the schedule did download!
>
> HOWEVER ... in SageTV, I can't press RECORD on the listings. What's this
> about? So I go and recheck their web pages. There's something called
> SageTV Recorder, which seems to do the rest of the stuff that should have
> been in the base package? Does this sound right? So, I have to pay another
> $20, on top of what WAS a price-competitive-with-BeyondTV cost, just to
> schedule recordings? This doesn't sound right to me. That and the
> disclaimer they have when they talk about the schedule service.
>

If you had a remote it is as simple as pressing the red record button
while the show you want to record is selected in the TV Guide, the
border around it will turn red and it's setup to record. Or you can
choose to select "favorite" and it will record that show whenever it
comes on, as your list of favorites grows you can easily shuffle them up
or down according to priority so if there's a show you really like that
is only on once a week you can put that on top so that it will record
that show no matter what other favorites are on at the same time on
other channels. Manually pressing record on a show overrides the
favorites list. SageTV Recorder is basically a cut price app you buy if
all you want to do is transfer VHS video to DVD, it's not for watching
TV, PVR style, although I think it does have listings integrated into it
so you can archive TV shows and play them back with Windows Media player
or burn them to DVD. SageTV Client makes any PC on your lan look just
like the one on the TV, I use it to watch TV on my laptop or watch TV in
the corner of the screen while I'm doing other things on my main PC, you
can do anything from client you can do from the server including change
channels, unless of course soemone is at the server watching a channel
already. The scheduling service you use depends where you are. I use a
user authored plugin that allows sage to download Canadian Bell
Expressvu listings through XML from zap2it.com, it works exactly like
the built in listings, so besides the initial setup you would never know
the difference. There are other plugins available to do a number of
different things like display the weather but I haven't played with
them.

You also should try GBPVR, it's free and it works pretty well with a
wide range of cards, I could never get it to change the channels on my
IRD however, so I don't use it. http://www.gbpvr.com


--
_________________________
Chris Phillipo - Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
http://www.ramsays-online.com